Surely you've read about the Japanese archaeologist whose excavations uncovered structures that were hundreds of thousands of years old. Unfortunately he got caught on security camera planting artifacts. None of it was real. It was what people wanted to believe.

I'm with you fiercehunter. Anyway, I like the Atlantean idea and have read Donnelley's book. Yes, I've read all the books and seen the films arguing that Santorini was Atlantis, that it erupted in about 1300 B.C., causing a Mediterreanean tsunami whose leading withdrawal accounts for the parting of the 'reed sea' that allowed the Jews to escape Egypt. That's a good story also.

But there is no way to mistake Santorini for Plato's description of Atlantis. More recent books and ideas are that Atlantis, after it's earthquake, migrated south and is not the continent under the 7 mile thick South Pole Ice cap.

What's normal, sane? Us? Oh, come on. Aren't we all nut-jobs to some degree? I'm sure I am, when I look back at some of the things I've done.

Donnelly's book is very well done, and very convincing. So is Plato's story of Solon's story of the Egyptian priests story. A small problem, though, is that the Brahamini of Ancient India have an older story about a city of about the same design existing in 'heaven'. The original 'city on a hill'.

I must be in a fanciful mood tonight. But fancy and imagination are good and necessary things to a healthy life - - yes, and so is knowing the difference, MagicMerl.